Mousa Dembele may have saved his Tottenham Hotspur career with his performance against Chelsea on New Year's Day.

The Belgian midfielder has been linked with a move away from White Hart Lane for some time now, but his display in Spurs's 5-3 success last week may have made Mauricio Pochettino reconsider his stance.

Dembele has so far failed to earn the trust of his Argentine manager during his time in charge of the North London side, but his performance against Chelsea has pushed him up the pecking order.

So far this season Dembele has had to play second fiddle to Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb, but he showed his worth on January 1st.

The 27-year-old came on to replace Mason in the 14th minute of Tottenham's game against Chelsea and helped his side win the midfield battle.

Comfortable in possession and physically strong, Dembele can be an asset on his day, but he has looked lethargic for too much of his Spurs career.

A January move, however, now appears unlikely, with Spurs having limited options in his department.

As Bentaleb heads off to the African Cup of Nations with Algeria, Dembele looks like his natural successor in the starting line-up thanks to his display against Chelsea and the chances of him departing North London look limited.

Spurs have been linked with PSG's Adrien Rabiot and Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin in recent times, as they look to fill the defensive midfield void, but both transfers look unlikely to take place in the current transfer window with a summer move more plausible.

The only other options Pochettino has in his current squad are Benjamin Stambouli, who has looked off the pace since signing this summer, and Paulinho, who is on the verge of a move back to Brazil, and both appear to be behind Dembele in the hierarchy.

It means that Dembele has suddenly become an important player for Spurs and, although a summer move could occur, his short-term future looks to be at Tottenham, despite reports linking him with Sunderland and Stoke City.

John Verrall

John is a sports journalism graduate from Staffordshire University. He is a huge football fan and a minute-by-minute writer for UEFA.com, as well as being a freelance writer for Sports New Media. John has also seen his work been published by the likes of The Guardian, World Soccer and Shoot Magazine over the course of his bourgeoning journalism career so far. He has a particular expertise in all things to do with the Football League – and is a passionate Peterborough United fan.